Dispute: Complaints process and after sales
Case Study
The home buyer’s complaint
The buyer claimed their builder did not fix outstanding snags and issues for several months and failed to respond to a complaint in a reasonable time, failing its own response times.
The builder’s defence
The builder acknowledged a delay in responding to the complaint but claimed that all emails were responded to with a formal response and that an apology was issued along with a commitment to work with the home warranty provider to resolve the issues.
Independent adjudicator’s findings
The Code requires after-sales care to be accessible. In this case, the adjudicator found that while the buyer was aware of who to contact, the aftersales service was not made accessible by the builder as the buyer raised issues multiple times, which remained outstanding. Therefore, the adjudicator found there to be a breach of section 4.1 of the Fourth Edition of the Code.
In addition, although the builder responded to the buyer’s complaints, it did not do so within ‘an appropriate time’ as complaints were not responded to for several weeks. The adjudicator found this constituted a breach of section 5.1 of the Code.
Decision
The claim succeeded and the builder was required to apologise for the breaches of the Code and pay the buyer £350 for inconvenience.
Learning points
For buyers:
- You have a right to expect that you will be kept informed should you need to raise a complaint with your builder. It’s a good idea to check the response times your builder commits to so you can hold them to account.
For builders:
- It is not enough to provide after sales care and a complaints process. You need to make these accessible. In relation to after-sales care this means responding promptly to issues raised, investigating where necessary, setting a timescale for any remedies to be provided and then sticking to that timescale.
- In most cases you should be able to settle an after sales issue within 30 days and you should keep your buyer informed throughout the process.
- In relation to complaints you should make your complaints procedure accessible and respond to enquiries and complaints made promptly. You should provide an estimated timescale for the work required to resolve the issue(s) raised or give details of the reason(s) why you reject the complaint.
- Buyers should be informed of any further investigation work necessary to determine the outcome of your decision to either accept or reject the complaint, including timescales and that any written final response will be provided as soon as possible after any further investigation has been carried out. Your response should also set out what part(s) of the buyer’s complaint you agree with as well as (where appropriate), what part(s) you disagree with and why.
- These requirements have been strengthened in the Fifth Edition of the Code and builders are encouraged to adopt the updated requirements as best practice, even for homes reserved under the Fourth Edition.
Adjudication 117211038
